Bring on the challenge!

Felt pretty good this morning.  Most of my miles were around 9:00 but I did have a few over 10, so I averaged about a 9:30/mile.  Got to step it up a little.  Last fall I was doing 8:30/mile in 1/2 marathons, and I would like to be back to that, if not better.

Did my sprint workout on the treadmill this morning.  I do 5 min at 6.0, then alternate 9.0/6.0 every 30 seconds for 5 minutes, 8.0/6.0, for 5 minutes, 9.0/6.0 (etc) for a total of 1/2 an hour.  Felt okay, a little tired (maybe I shouldn't stay up so late watching the Olympics :) ).  8.0 feels pretty good after doing 9.0.  Wonder if I could run an entire 1/2 marathon at that pace???

Tried out my new pair of running shoes on the treadmill today.  So far, not liking them.  I thought it would be an easy replacement to my old shoes - they are the same kind - but something about them just doesn't seem to be fitting right, and I haven't figured out what.  I'll give them a few more tries, but may have to break down and take them back to get something else.  Bummer.

Got to run outside this morning, instead of on the treadmill!! Yeah!  Ran 4 miles in 34 min. flat.  Felt pretty good.

Ran 13 miles this morning.  Felt tired/sluggish off and on (I'm sure it was because I was running on an empty stomach), but overall it was okay.  I finished in just over 2 hours (2:02) which made me feel pretty  good as I have a 1/2 marathon coming up in a few weeks and have been wondering how my time is going to compare to my PR last fall.  I WILL eat something before the race  :) so I know I ought to feel pretty good on race day and should be able to do something in the 1:50's, which is what I was hoping for in this race.  

Did my 10 miles today instead of tomorrow as we are going out of town for Spring Break.  It was rainy/snowy almost the entire time.  Made for a very wet run.  Overall did pretty good, though, and felt good.

Hiked at Goblin Valley State Park today.  Not sure on the mileage, but hiked for a good two hours.

Hiked in Arches National Park today.  Guessing on the mileage.  Hiked the Park Avenue Trail, out and back, and the Windows Section of the park.  Took a wrong turn and took the longer hike instead of the shorter one here (which was fine by me).  Good workout.

Hiked in Arches National Park today.  I'm guessing on the total mileage, but it was probably around 4 miles.  Hiked to Delicate Arch, good workout going uphill (even had to carry the 3 year old part of the way ), and worked the opposite muscles coming down the mountain :).  Tried to keep up the pace as good as you can when you are being trailed by younger children.  Felt like a good workout.

Hiked in Arches National Park.  Again, guessing on the mileage.  Hiked to Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch.  Then hiked to Landscape Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Tunnel Arch.  Quite the hill by the last two.  Made myself run up it :).  I definitely feel like I've gotten a workout the last several days hiking, which is good since my running has been on hold while I've been gone.  Anxious to get back on the treadmill tomorrow :)

Okay, so I thought hiking for the last few days and not running wouldn't be so bad.  It's still exercise, right?  Well, this morning I did my sprint workout on the treadmill (decided to do it today because it's such a good workout and I missed it on Monday), and I thought I was going to DIE!!!  Well, maybe not that bad, but I could definitely tell I hadn't run for the last 5 days.  I don't remember the last time I had that long of a break from running.  Last fall?  Summer?  I guess sitting in the car took it's toll, too. But, I'm back now, and it's time to get serious.  Only 2 weeks till the race!!!

Felt pretty good this morning.  Did my 10 in 1:31, just over 9 min. miles on average.  Next week will be faster, with the race.  Hope to do well!

Rest day.  Tomorrow is the Salt Lake Marathon/Half marathon.  I'm doing the half.  SOOOO excited!!!  We'll see if all the running I've done over the winter has paid off!  I'm not hoping for a PR, since this isn't as fast as Hobble Creek, but I would like something close, preferably a 1:55.  We'll see how it goes!!  LOVE race day!!!

What an AWESOME race today!  Here I was, hoping to just get under 2 hours for this race, and I ALMOST got a new PR!  Only 37 seconds off my PR!  Wow!  If this is only the first race of the year, I have high hopes for the rest of the summer!  I felt great and most of my miles were between 8 and 8:30 min/miles.  Wish I could have run just that much faster, but I gave it my all.

Okay, complaints.  I was very disappointed in some of the organization of this race.  Some instructions were not very clear, like packet pick up times.  Also, I missed about 3 mile markers.  And, yes, I WAS looking for them.  The first one I missed was mile 2, but I thought I might have just missed it in the crowd.  But, I also missed 2 others when there wasn't the hordes of people around.  Very frustrating when you are trying to time your miles. They had the roads blocked off so well, I don't understand why they didn't just put the mile markers on the road, instead of hiding them on the sidewalk or who knows where.

The aid stations - they  had them set at odd locations.  I love the races where the aid stations are set at mile markers.  This was not the case here.  So, that kind of threw me off a bit, too.  And, no Gu!  I brought my own, thank goodness.  For such a big event (and for the price!) they should have at least had these in 1 or 2 locations. 

Also, there were A LOT of people racing this morning.  I am a competitive runner (not so much against other people, but against myself).  It's frustrating trying to get out of the crowd to find your pace.  I wish people that were running with each other wouldn't run 2, 3, or even 4-abreast!  It's so hard to get around them. 

My other complaint was not with the race itself, but my music!  Just as we were getting ready to start today, I went to turn on my music and it WOULDN'T START!!!  Never have I had a problem with  my ipod before!  My husband, who was running the full marathon, just laughed because I'd actually have to run without my music.  MEAN!  (I think I'll blame my lack of a new PR on the lack of music :) )  I know some people think it's silly to have to have it, but I honestly believe it helps me.  Helps keep my mind off the run, especially when I'm getting to the end :)  However, the good news was, after the race I was able to go into an Apple store and find out what the problem was - a simple fix of resetting it.  Who knew??  Maybe I should read the instruction manual next time.  Glad it's not broken, though.

All in all, though, it was a perfect day for a run.  The weather was great (why did I wear a long sleeve shirt???) and the temp was perfect.  What a great race!

Took the day off today.  Didn't really want to, but the inside of my knee has been bothering me.  I didn't notice it hurting on Saturday after the race, but Sunday morning it hurt like you know what!  Don't know if I pulled something or what, but I've been popping the ibuprofen to get it feeling better.  If anyone reads this and has experienced this, any advice?  Any good stretches?  Can't afford to injure myself, I've got a big running year ahead!  It does feel better today, but I still notice it, especially bending  my knee.  Hope it's nothing too serious and goes away.  Hope to be back running again in the morning :)

Felt SO good to run outside today!  The weather has been so nice, can't wait for summer.  Can't wait to be outside permanently, and not on the treadmill  most days.  

Knee is feeling better.  Guess I just strained it somehow.  Doesn't hurt at all to run, it's just sore after and when I'm stretching.  I'll have to just be careful.  

Argh!  The last couple of days have been SO NICE to be able to run outside!  It was back on the treadmill again this morning because of the rain.  Not that running in the rain is always terrible, but I just wasn't in the mood this  morning.  

Did I ever mention how much I hate the treadmill?  I run so much faster outside on the roads.  I just feel like I can't run that fast on the treadmill (unless I'm doing sprints) and my min/mile is 10.  I KNOW!!  I NEVER run that slow outside, but it is exhausting on the treadmill.  I don't understand. 

Anyway, got through it.  I was more tired today, too, went to bed a little later, and I don't think the cold, wet weather helped my tiredness this morning.  Looking forward to Saturday - weather is supposed to be better and I'll get my 10 or more in.  Wish it was another race. . .love race days :)

I planned on doing 13 this morning, thought my route was for that far, but I guess I was just a little off.  Oh, well, close enough.  

Felt pretty good, but took it slow.  The weather started out at 38 degrees when I left (you mean I have to wear layers of clothes again???), but warmed up by the time I had finished.  CANNOT WAIT for summer to be here!!  I'm so tired of layering on the clothes.  

 Good run, I'm tired, but not sore.  Hope to up it some more next weekend. 

Took advantage of the decent weather this morning and ran outside.  It was great!  I ran 4 miles in 33:41.  (Mile 1, 8:58, Mile 2, 8:49, Mile 3, 7:50, Mile 4, 8:02).  The first 2 miles are slightly uphill, then I turn around and come back.  Pretty happy with that but I still want to do better :)  Thinking about running a 5K in a few weeks, wondering if I could do a sub 8 min/mile pace?  Guess it depends on the course.  Feeling like I need to increase some of my tempo runs.

You gotta love Utah weather.  Did my 10 miles this morning in rain and snow.  It is May 1st, right?  Sometimes I hate living here. . .

Did my 10 in 1:34.  Not too fast this morning.  Kind of tired.  Went to bed early, but woke up shortly after midnight to get registered for Hobble Creek (yeah!!!!).  Glad I did, too, as it filled up by 10 a.m.!!!  That's where I'm planning on killing it this year!  My PR was from there last year, so I only expect great things from that race!

Overall, good run.  The knee is still bothering me somewhat.  Gotta figure out what to do about that.

Sprint workout on the treadmill this morning.  Haven't done it for 3 weeks.  Need to start upping it.

Took the day off today.  I have a sore foot.  Don't know what that's all about.  I was on my feet a lot the last few days and now it hurts.  Hope it gets better.

Well, 13.79 is what Map My Run says I did.  Not sure if I believe it's accuracy sometimes.  I think it was more like 13.5, but close enough.  Went with hubby again.  Took us just over 2 hours.  Pretty tired when I got back, but glad I did it.  When I go with him and we go for longer than 10 miles, I have to run his style (well, okay, I don't HAVE to, but I want to run with him, so I do).  Where I will just flat out run the 13 miles, hardly stopping, he prefers to walk every 2 miles for a minute.  He swears it does him good.  While I don't doubt him, I have a hard time doing that, especially the first 6 miles.  I don't want to stop, I want to keep going!!  But, I do need to take a leaf out of his book as I'm running the St George marathon later this year and I know my running style is going to have to change for that.  I won't be able to race the half marathon distance, since I'll have to go twice that far.  

Foot still slightly sore, but fine while running.  Thinking about getting a second pair of running shoes.  I wore my new ones on the long run today (yes, they are FINALLY feeling broken in) but they were feeling a bit non-cushiony and my feet were feeling pretty pounded by the end.  That never happened in my old shoes.  Think I'll have to go online and find another pair.

Did my sprint workout on the treadmill today.  

Okay, I just have to ask, does anyone else have friends they run with that are so competitive they just make you so mad?  Not that competition is a bad thing.  I thrive on it, believe me!  But, this is a girl I've trained with for several years and 2 years ago beat me at the Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon by 3 minutes, coming around the corner and yelling to my family "I beat her!!" (They've never liked her since :) lol) Last year I kicked her trash - beat her by an entire mile in Logan and beat her PR by 3 minutes.  This year she is determined to have the same goal as me (which just means I have to up my own goal :) ).  

 So, back to my treadmill workout.  I told her about this workout and she decided to try it last week.  Of course, what I was doing, she had to do better.  Which just made me realize I've got to up mine more.  I did my 5 minute warm up, then 1 min. at 9.0, 1 min at 6.0, then alternated 9.0, 6.0 every 30 seconds for the next 15 minutes.  At 20 minutes, I did 8.0, 6.0, 30 second intervals for 5 minutes, then 8.0 for 2 minutes straight, 1 minute 6.0, and 8.0 for another 2 minutes straight.  I've decided the 8.0 pace is difficult to keep up with for a long amount of time, but I'm determined to keep working at it.  Felt AWESOME when I was done (that workout makes me sweat like a pig!). 

Anyway, I welcome any advice on getting faster.  I obviously can't let this "friend" beat me or I'll never hear the end of it :)

It's time to start upping the workouts.  

 Ran 1 mile at 10 min/mile pace to warm up (on the treadmill at 6:30 in the morning, this seems fast, even though I never run that slow outside)

Ran the next 2 miles at an 8 min/mile pace.  Could tell it was more of a workout, but felt fine. 

Finished off the rest of the 30 minutes back at the 10 min/mile pace to cool down. 

 I am running a 5K in another week.  My goal is to do in the 24 min range.  My other goal is to beat my so called "friend" (if you don't understand this, read my post from 2 days ago :) ) She asked me last night if I'd ever run a 7 minute mile.  I told her I had not (I should have said, Yeah, in high school!!).  She was going to try it this morning for kicks and giggles, just to see if she could because, after all, we have a race in 11 days!  And, that's when I knew it was time to get serious.  This could be an interesting race next week. . . :)

Ran 10 min/mile for 5 minutes to warm up.  Then ran next 3 miles at 8 min/mile pace.  Felt great! I need to do this more often!  Hope I can do this speed for the 5K next weekend!

Kind of a frustrating run this morning.  Last night I mapped out a 15 miler (with some GREAT hills!) and was excited to try it this morning.  Went with hubby and just after mile 5 he needed a potty BAD!  (It is rare that this happens with him, in fact, I think only the second time, but it brought back so many memories of a certain "friend" I would run with and it was inevitable that she would need a potty on EVERY long run!) So, I got a little frustrated.  We were by his office building (unfortunately, the only place we could think of with a bathroom) so made it there and I probably spent 10 minutes waiting.  He felt much better after and I was chomping at the bit. :) So, we bagged our original 15 mile route (mainly because of the time) and opted for the usual route, hoping we could make up some miles somewhere in between.  At about mile 12 we split up, me thinking I was only getting 13-14 miles, he wanting to do closer to the 15 we had originally planned.  I made it home and "mapped my run", and lo and behold, discovered I had, in fact, done 15!  I'm glad!  That made me feel a little better since I was feeling like I got short changed this morning.  He ended up doing closer to 16 1/2 miles.  

Anyway, I want to tackle that other route again sometime.  I need to work on those hills. . . :)

Sprint workout on treadmill.  Warm up at 10 min/mile pace for 5 min.  Then alternate 6.0/9.0 in 30 minute increments for the next 15 minutes.  Then 8.0/6.0 for 5 minutes.  Then 9.0 & 8.0/6.0 for the last 5 minutes.  On the last 30 second interval I did a 10.0 - WOW!  Thought I was going to fall off the treadmill at first! lol - Then, got my feet under me and it wasn't so bad.

Good workout.

Warm up for 5 minutes at 6.0.  Then ran the next mile at an 8 min/mile pace.  Wanted to go farther, but just too tired today.  Then ran the next 2 miles at 6.0 pace.  Maybe I should do sprints and interval training two days in a row??? ya think??

AWESOME race!!  I haven't done a 5K that fast since high school (many, many years ago. . .)!!!  I had 2 goals today - I wanted to get in 24 minutes, and I wanted to beat a certain friend of mine.  Goals accomplished!!  I think the results showed my time as an average 7:50 min/ mile?  I could be wrong, but wow, I pushed it!  My first 2 miles were 7:40's and 7:50's.  Forgot to push stop on my watch as I crossed the finish line, guess catching my breath was more important at the moment :) This is a great course.  There are some uphills and downhills, but thankfully, the last half mile is all downhill.  Unfortunately, I got one of those KILLER side aches at this point - you know, the one's that literally take your breath away?  I had to slow down just slightly, but I refused to slow down too much, my goal was in sight!  Got passed by 2 younger girls toward the end, and sped up to keep up with them, but they still took me at the end.

The other best part??  I placed 3rd in my age division!  Which, considering it's 30-39, it's quite the big division, and I was quite pleased!  But, it got better!  The two girls ahead of me in my division placed in the top 3 females overall, so when they did the age division awards, the race directors had decided if you placed overall, you weren't going to also get the prize for the age group.  Which meant, I got bumped to 1st place in our age group!!  I've never been in a race when they've done that before, but thought it was quite cool!!  It's been a long time since I've won something at a race before!

The only downside of today was that this is the first weekend in probably 9 months that I haven't done 10+ miles.  So, I'm sort of feeling guilty about that.  But, maybe that's okay - I know I don't have a problem running the longer distances.  Maybe my body will appreciate me backing off a bit for one week??? 

Did sprint workout on the treadmill.  Same as last Monday, although I omitted the 10.0 at the end.  Kinda tired today.  Guess I shouldn't have had that coke last night :)

Took the day off today.  Our running schedule is a little different because of the holiday weekend, so decided to make this my rest day and run on Friday instead.  Bought me another new pair of shoes yesterday :)  Found out why I didn't like the other new pair I had - they are neutral running shoes, I need the stability shoes.  Thought I had gotten those, but I thought wrong.  The nice guy at SL Running Co. showed me how you can tell on Mizuno's if they are stability.  Very helpful to know!!  Can't wait to try out the new shoes tomorrow morning!  I absolutely loved my last pair!

Ran with my sister and her husband to help them train for the 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks.  Kind of frustrating as her husband has to stop and walk quite a bit.  The last half of the run, I pulled a "Jillian".  I made him run for 7 minutes and then he could walk for 1 minute.  This lasted about 4 times, I think.  It shouldn't have been difficult as most of it was downhill.  Needless to say, I really didn't feel like I had run 11 miles after that.  I wanted to go further with my husband (he did 19), but I had a sick kid at Grammy's house so I thought I'd better stay back with him.  Glad to get back to my own training and pace :)

Did 4 miles in 33:34 this morning.  Felt good, especially after the SLOW run yesterday.  My legs were ready to to actually be worked out this morning :)

Thought I was only going 5 miles this morning, until mile 3 was WAY slower than the rest!  Just went and recalculated it on mapmyrun.com and found the actual distance.  I feel a little better now :)  Did this distance in 44:13.  Felt pretty good.  

Did 3 on the treadmill this morning.  Not my fave, especially when it's so nice outside, but the kids were up and hubby was gone this morning.  Tomorrow is a day off, then Saturday the long run.  Probably just 10, since the half marathon is next week.  

Did the sprint workout on the treadmill.  

Did 4 miles in 33:11 this morning.  I'm fighting a stupid cold, too.  Seriously, who gets sick in the summer time???  I haven't been sick all winter and now this?  Think I'll take the rest of the week off and see if I can rest up for the weekend.  I've been so excited about the Utah Valley half on Saturday, just hope the cold feels better.  Plus, the weather is supposed to suck. . . ah, well.  My hubby reminded me that Michael Jordan played one of his best games here in Utah with the flu. . .how could I forget that?  Maybe that's the motivation I need :)

YES!!!!  A new personal best!!  I was hoping, but I wasn't sure if it would actually happen today.  

Thankfully, the weather cooperated, for the most part.  We got lightly rained on for a bit (but the marathon, which was farther up the mountain, got poured on), but the cooler temperatures felt great for running.  Not so great waiting at the finish line for my sis and my hubby, though :)

The race came down Provo Canyon and down University Avenue in Provo.  Down the canyon was great - lots of downhill.  Once we hit University Avenue, though, it was mentally challenging, at least for me.  That was the last 6 1/2 to 7 miles.  It is just a LONG STRAIGHT road. . .need I say more?  They had the traffic very well controlled for the race, so kudos go out to all the help.  I thought the aid stations were very well placed and well stocked, too. 

Not necessarily my favorite race, but I'm so excited to have set a new PR today!  I also came in 6th in my age group, just missing placing by 1 1/2 minutes.  I'm quite pleased :)

Now to recover and get ready for Ragnar next weekend. . . :)

Sprint workout on the treadmill.  Legs still a bit tired from Saturday, but it felt good to stretch them out again.  Backed off a bit and alternated between 9's and 8's.

Did 4 miles in 33:14.  Felt tired, but I guess I wasn't too bad off!  Legs almost recovered from Saturday.  

Okay, I am officially EXHAUSTED!! Don't know why I am typing this instead of going to bed!  Ragnar ended today.  It was AWESOME!!  I did leg 6 in van 1.  Our start time was 6:50 a.m., so we got up at 2:45 a.m. in order to make it to Logan on time. 

My first leg was down Avon Pass, 6.9 miles.  Everyone has been telling me to "have fun with that".  Now I know what you all  meant!  I love downhill, don't get me wrong, but that was BRUTAL!  Would have loved to enjoy the view, but I was too busy concentrating on where I was placing my feet.  Very steep and I was just flying down the hill, but one wrong step would be a disaster.  Luckily, I made it down to the pavement, where my legs had turned to jello.  The last 2 miles on the pavement were difficult because of this, but I managed to make it to the exchange in just under and hour.  Unfortunately, van 2 was not ready so I had to wait in the chute for about 5 minutes for someone to show up!  Oh, well, live and learn :)

 My second leg started around 8:40 p.m. heading up to East Canyon, 8.1 miles.  This was the leg I was worried about, #1 because it was mostly uphill, and #2, because I was already tired from my first leg.  However, for the most part, it was really not that bad.  I was actually glad of the change from downhill to uphill to use other muscles.  And, the uphill was more rolling uphill until about the last 2 miles.  Then, it got steep, and I got tired (and hungry!)  Made it to the top in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  I know my first 5-6 miles were probably between 8 and 9 minute miles, but those last 2 killed me, so I averaged 10 min/miles on that one. 

Went to Oakley after that to have a pancake breakfast at midnight :) and get some rest.  Unfortunately, I'm not a great camper, so I didn't sleep much before we were back up again at 3:30 a.m.

My last leg was through Heber.  It was 3.1 miles and relatively flat.  I decided to go all out on this one and see just how much more my body could give.  I made it to the exchange in 25:20, so I was quite pleased! 

Then, we headed up to The Canyons to await our 2nd van.  Our total team time was 31 hours and 20 minutes.  This was seriously so much fun!  (And, a bonus - I got to meet Sione from Biggest Loser at the finish line!  He's AWESOME!!) I definitely want to do it again!

But, now, sleep. . . :)

Burt, if you are reading this, I DID IT!!!  I KILLED IT today!  So freaking excited!  My goal was for a 1:45 today and I even beat that.  That is 8 minutes faster than last year's Hobble Creek and 7 minutes faster than my new PR set in June.  AND, I was in the top 100 female finishers!  NEVER expected that.  All my hard work must be paying off :) My husband even set a new PR of 1:36 today.   Great day all around.  Here are my mile breakdowns:

1- 7:02

2- 6:59

3- 7:16

4- 6:55 (yeah, after seeing those 2 sub-7's, I was shocked and I knew I was going out too fast.  But, hey, you gotta work those downhills!)

5- 7:32

6- 7:25 (at this point, the speed caught up with me.  MAJOR side ache for the next 1 1/2 miles.  This was also where my hubby caught up with me - he was a little concerned :)  But, I toughed it out and eventually overcame :) )

7- 8:14

8- 7:38

9- 8:40 (tough mile, with some uphills.  Who knew the day would come when I'd be panicking to get an 8:40 mile???)

10- 8:08

11- 8:46 (another uphill on this one.  Just had to keep telling  myself I only had 2 more miles to go)

12- 8:11

13- 8:32 (I think this last mile is one of the worst.  I HATE the straight road, especially at the end, but at least there are no more uphills :) )

.1 -.49 

 I gave this run everything I had.  I knew I would regret it if I didn't and missed my goal.  So, now the question is, what's in store for next year? ;)  

 Next up, Top of Utah Half Marathon next weekend.  Not expecting to break this PR, but would sure love a 1:45.  We shall see. . . 

Sprint workout.   Surprisingly, not feeling too bad after Saturday's race.  

Ran hills today.

Excellent race today, but I don't think I've fully recovered from last weekend.  (Don't think I'll be running as much this week, as I've still got one more half next weekend)

The nice thing about Top of Utah - they seem to be very organized.  We started about 10 minutes late, but that's okay.  MUCH better than last weekend's 45 minute late start!  These guys could really show Hobble Creek a thing or two about organization!  

 Here are my mileage breakdowns:

1&2 - 15:34 (I totally missed the 1st mile marker, which is a little frustrating, but understandable in the crowd)

3 - 7:46

4&5 - 15:47 (Missed mile marker 4.  How did that happen??)

6 - 7:41

7 - 7:45

8 - 7:53

9 - 8:25 (the mile marker came after the aid station here, so I had my break before clocking it)

10 - 8:07

11 - 8:31

12 - 9:25 (This was rough mile.  Bit of an uphill on the road, and I am REALLY feeling tired!)

13 - 8:57 

 Overall, I'm pleased with today.  According to the race predictor, this is about what to expect after my time from last week.  Wish I would have rested up a bit more, though, because I was really feeling the effects of last week's run.  I would like to see what I could do totally rested on this one.  Next year. . . :)

Took the day off again today.  Pocatello half marathon on Saturday, and I don't want to exhaust myself for it like I did with Logan last weekend.  Only planning on working out 2 days this week, hope this gives me a good combination of enough rest and enough workout before the race.  

Ran 4 miles this morning.  Didn't time it, thought I'd just do an easy run today.  Felt pretty good, think my legs are recovering good from last weekend.  I'll run again tomorrow, and time my miles, then take it easy till Saturday.  Hoping to be rested enough to perform well in Pocatello.  

Did my 4 in 32:18 this morning.  Right hamstring is still a little tight, but other than that, felt pretty good.  Taking the next two days off to rest up for Saturday.  Glad I got my endorphins this morning, though.  Fighting my 8 year old before school just about does me in!  Hopefully, I won't need them tomorrow :)  

Have I mentioned how much I dislike this course?  :)  

The Pocatello marathon runs not only the marathon, but the half, 10k, and 5k all along the same course, just starting at different times.  The marathon course is supposed to be quite nice, coming down out of the mountains and very pretty.  Then you hit the halfway point, which is where I start.  That half is hardly any downhill, lots of flat, and several uphills.  Of all the halfs I've done this year, this is definitely the most difficult.  That being said, I still set a goal and wanted to try to achieve it here.  

This is not a huge race.  In the half marathon, they had 416 runners, I think the marathon had about 350.  Total of all 4 races was just under 1300 runners.  So, this was also the smallest race I did all year.  I do want to say, though, that the race director here is top notch.  He did a fantastic job and really did his best to make sure everyone had a great time.  

So, onto my race.  The half didn't start until 8 a.m.  Which, I hate.  Especially yesterday, as it got warm pretty fast.  But, they start the full at 6:15, then wait and start us later.  I was still up at 4:15 a.m. to drive into Pocatello with my husband who was doing the full, so it wasn't like I got to sleep in for a later race.  As we waited to start the half, we got to see the first marathoners coming through.  That was pretty exciting to cheer them on.  I also saw several familiar faces (I grew up in the area, which is the reason I do this race), and had several comments on my Ragnar shirt (that was fun, glad I wore it!)  Then, they got us started (very promptly on time, I might add), and I got to actually start right at the front of the line.  I've never started at the front before, so it was kind of nice to be able to just take off instead of dodging around people in the beginning.  Here are my mile breakdowns:

 1 - 6:38 - okay, this wasn't really mile one, it was 0.9, since we are on the marathon course.  But, it looks good for me ;)

2 - 7:41

3 - 8:04 - between 3 and 4 there were some uphills.  I had forgotten about all the uphills in this race. . .

4- 8:22

5 - 7:57  - at this point, my left foot got numb.  Never had this happen before.  Thought I'd stretched my calves good before the race began, but apparently not good enough.  Made me a little nervous, as I've had achilles issues over the summer on this side.  Thankfully, it eventually went away (thanks to short walks at the water stops).

6 - 7:52 - about this point my headphones decided to short out.   Not a good race for this to happen.  I needed the distraction.  Couldn't decide whether it would be worse to have no music or faded music for the rest of the race.  Decided some was better than none :)  Also, at this point, I caught up to a barefoot marathon runner.  As I passed him, I had to have a quick conversation on how he liked it.  It was his first time to run a marathon barefoot, and he was starting to struggle (he eventually made it the whole way, but said he had MAJOR bilsters at the end!)

7 - 8:06 - Saw one of my old school teachers at this mile marker.  How fun!  Had to quickly stop and shake his hand :)  

8 - 8:29 - This was the big hill.  I HATE that hill.  

9- 8:45 - Obviously still recovering from that hill.  At this point, I'm also passing a lot of walkers.  I guess the 10K had a lot of walkers in it.  It was just kind of surprising to me.  So, then I'm thinking, maybe I should have just done the 10K???  I probably could have placed quite well there  - LOL!

10 - 8:28 - Saw a few other familiar faces cheering on the sidelines.  Made this part of the race nice.  It's just a LONG stretch of road. . .

11 - 8:20 - Had "purple shorts" in my sights most of the race.  Not sure which race she was doing or even which age group, but wanted to pass her.  I finally did at this point.  

12 - 8:34 - Passing A LOT more people, especially walkers here.  We now have the 5Kers running along the course.  The nice thing?  It feels GREAT to pass people that far into the race!  The bad?  Some of the walkers were walking 3 abreast and there was not a lot of passing space.  Got a little tight in some spots.  

13 - 8:23 - Saw my family just before this mile marker.  (I always forget how far away they sit from the finish line!)  

.2 - 1:36 - That last .2/.4 miles I really tried to kick it in.   It's a long straight stretch to the finish line, you see the banner, but it's just so far away. . . I tried to pass as many people as I could at the end.  All I could think was, if I missed my goal by one person, I would be so disappointed!  Crossed the finish line in 1:47:20, which was about 7 minutes faster than last years time (1:54:48).  My goal had been around a 1:45, and I just wanted to place in my age group.  So, I was quite happy with that time.  

But, was it good enough??  When I noticed they had some results posted, I ran over (okay, I didn't really run ;) ) to see where I stood.  Here I was just hoping I would place, hoping for that #3 spot, and I saw I was actually #2.  Wow!!  I have never placed in my age group at a half marathon before, so this was pretty exciting!  I was 12th in the women overall, and 46th out of 416 half marathoners, overall.  What a great feeling!  I want more!! :)

As for the hubs - he also did a PR yesterday.  3:45.  Which is great on this course.  Can't wait to see what he does in Logan in 2 weeks, and St George in 4!  

And, that is the last of my halfs for the year.  At least, I think so (ha ha!!)  Now, onto marathon training - a little overwhelming for me to think about - for St George in a month. This will only be my 2nd marathon I've ever done, the first being 7 years ago (and it was NOT a good experience).   However, I am in much better shape now than I was then. . . Really hoping to do well there and have a better experience this time around.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated - lol!!  

Ran 4 miles this morning.  Hate the fact that it's still dark at 6:30 a.m., where has summer gone???  And, it was quite a bit colder this morning.   Actually had to ditch the shorts and short sleeve shirt for something a little warmer.  Other than that, the run was good.  Felt great.

This morning's 4 was not so great.  I originally intended to get up a bit earlier and do 6, but the dark and my comfy bed convinced me that 4 was okay again for this morning.  And, after doing my miles, I'm glad that's all I did.  I was almost 3 minutes slower this morning than last.  I never could get a kick in my step, I just felt so tired today.  I even went to bed early last night - hubs said I got TOO much sleep and that's why I was tired.  Gotta disagree.  Felt great to get a little extra sleep :)  

Sprint workout on treadmill.  

Wow, was it HOT yesterday!!  You know it's a bad sign when you are up at the starting line and it's not even cold!  

This was only my 2nd full marathon.  The first one I did 7 years ago.  I am in much better shape now than I was then, however, not only have I been experiencing burnout since my 3 halfs last month, but it's been a stressful month of single-parenting (hubby has been in and out of town on business trips all month), and so I've turned to my coke and chocolate :).  So, having not eaten well for the past couple of weeks, I was a little apprehensive about this race, and just hoping to do okay.  My goal was 4:00 hrs or under, I did a 4:03.  I had the under 4 hour mark until the last 2 miles, but just didn't have it in me to finish it.  All things considered, I'm quite pleased with coming this close to my goal.   Here are my mileage breakdowns:

 1 - 8:57

2 - 8:47

3- 8:31  At this point, I'm feeling like I have to pee.  Are you kidding???  I just went at the POP's right before the race started!

4 - 8:30

5 - 8:29

6 - 8:38  REALLY need to pee now.  Don't really want to find a bush, but don't want to stand in line at the POP's either.  

7 - 8:02  YEAH!!  No line at the POP's!!  Jump in, take care of business, and I'm back on the road!  I've been running with my husband up to this point, but he also needed the pit stop, so I gave him mine and took off.  I knew he would catch up :)

8 - 10:10  Veyo hill.  I was NOT going to let it conquer me, I ran the whole thing!

9 - 9:00

10 - 8:58

11 - 9:10  Hubby has caught back up to me by this point.  We leap frog the next couple of miles.  

12 - 8:57 

13 - 8:27

14 - 8:50  Hubby leaves me for good by now.  (He's reading this and says that doesn't sound very good - LOL)

15 - 8:12  I was looking forward to this point in the race because I had family waiting at the 15 1/2.  Great boost to see them there!

16 - 8:51

17 - 8:30

18 - 9:18  Starting to hurt just a little.  REALLY thirsty.  I looked forward to every aid station and was grabbing both the gatorade and water.  Nervous about dehydration with the heat.  At this point, there was a mister set up.  Walked slowly through it, and the muscles were rejuvinated for another couple of miles.

19 - 10:33 I believe this was the last hill, under the underpass.   The heat was really starting to get to me at this point, and I walked part of this hill.

20 - 10:38

21 - 8:31 Wow! How did I go from 2 10 min/milers to this?  Guess I caught the downhill.

22 - 10:35 And, this was where I really started to hurt.  Every aid station from 21 on, every time I stopped, it hurt.  I wanted so bad to just walk, but even walking hurt.  My quads were burning, my hips were hurting, and my body was just pounded.  I kept looking at my watch, thinking, I'm gonna do this!  I'm gonna get under 4 hours!  It's only 4 more miles!  Piece of cake!  

23 - 10:30

24 - 9:59  Another mister here.  THANK YOU!!!  Once again, walked slowly through it.  And, this was where the 4 hour pace team passed me.  I watched them go past, telling myself to run and catch up!!  But, I just didn't have it in me anymore.  

25/26 - 21:51  I missed mile marker 25.  I'm sure it was right there at the aid station, but I missed it.  

.2 - 2:17 I'm getting passed right and left.  I know I was not looking good.  Just trying to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other so I can finish.  

And. . .it was over.  I stood under the misters till I was soaked at the end.  Wishing there was a nice cold river I could go sit in. . .then, I headed in to find me some water.  I have never been so thirsty in a race before.  That heat was terrible.  People were handing out popsicles, ice cream bars, standing in line for coke. . . where is the freaking water?!?! Finally find some and grab two, down the first one and go to sit with the second.  It's not that great anyway, it's warm.  End up eating the popsicle, because at least it's cold.  I stretch some, sit for a good 20 minutes, then get up to walk around and find the hubby.  After 40 minutes or so, I finally start to feel a little better.  

7 years ago when I ran this race, I was sick at the end and could hardly walk for 3 days.  This year, no stomach issues, and, yes, I'm sore, but I'm getting around okay.  Even stairs :)  Although the 4 1/2 hour car ride home doesn't really help, lol.  I beat my last marathon time by a whole hour.  And, yes, I think there will now be more full marathons in my future :) 

Ran 10 miles with the hubs this morning.  Kinda slow.  He's still got some minor injuries that haven't quite healed up yet (even after 2 weeks of no running) and I had some wonderfully delicious food yesterday that was not so wonderful as it sat in my system for awhile (let's just say lots of beans - 'nuf said).  But at least the running helped work things out in me :)

Kind of dragging today since then, you'd think I'd run a lot farther.  I know I haven't reported for the last several weeks, but I have still been keeping up my regimen.  I felt fully recovered (tiredness) from the marathon after only 1-1/2 weeks and am eagerly setting my goals for next year :) I even tried to do a 1/4 mile sprint on the treadmill this week at a 9.0 (6:40 min/mile).  I do it on my sprint workouts every week for 30 seconds at a time, so I figured, how hard can it be?  Let's just say, verge of puking.  Seriously.  I've never felt that way before.  Guess I need to up my workouts a bit, huh? ;)  I finished and wondered how in the world some of these fast bloggers keep up that pace and faster in an entire marathon.  Hoping someday it won't seem quite so extreme to me.

Did my sprint workout today.  Felt pretty good.  

Ran 3  miles today on the treadmill at a 6.0.  I know, terrible this morning!  But, I was tired and thought I'd do a slower day today, then do some more sprints tomorrow.  My knee has been bothering me today.  Don't know what I've done.  It's the top of it, hope it goes away.  I don't usually have these problems.  Did hubby jinx me??  Or are these sympathy pains for him??? 

1/4 mile - 6.0 (10 min/mile)

3/4 mile - 6.5 (9.13 min/mile)

1 mile - 7.0 (8.34 min/mile)

1  mile - 7.5 (8 min/mile)

1/2 mile - 7.0

1/4 mile - 6.0

1/4 mile - 9.0 (6.40 min/mile)

Okay, did this last week, although did it slightly differently.  Thought I'd give myself a breather at the end before I did the 9.0, and thought it would matter.  Nope, most certainly didn't.  I still was on the verge of puking at the end of that 1/4 mile.  Actually, I think it was slightly worse than last week, I was actually gagging this time.  Might have to keep a bucket in there for me for the future. . . actually, my goal is to at least be able to do this without feeling that way at the end.  I mean, come on!  It's 1 min and 40 seconds.  Surely that shouldn't kill me?!?!  I seriously don't know how some of you people do this pace for an entire marathon.  Anyway, feels great when I'm done, aside from the puking factor.  But, I will prevail!! :) 

Did 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning at a 7.0 (8.34) pace.  This ended up being about 3.5 miles.  It felt a little fast, but it really shouldn't.  It's about my normal pace.  Although, I think I'm figuring out why the treadmill is so much more difficult than outdoors (aside from the obvious reasons :) ).  My treadmill's lowest incline is a 1.5.  So, we're not completely flat, are we?  Which is both good and bad.  Good, because I'm not training downhill or flat, but bad, because mentally, it really gets to me.  Wish it wasn't fall/winter training now, I miss the outdoors.  But, I'll keep at it :)

Did  my 10  miles this morning.  Ran with hubby the first 3, then he turned around to only do 6 total.  His foot and knee are still bothering him.  Finished the rest of my miles feeling great!  Funny to see that my slowest miles were the first three. . . hmmm :)  Haven't felt that great running for several weeks.  

Did  my sprint workout this morning.  Hadn't been running for even 5 minutes when I felt the bathroom calling.  Thought I'd could stick it out, but made it to 15 minutes and had to take a pit stop.  Which was fine, except for the fact that I had a hard time getting back in the groove after that.  It's only a 30 minute workout anyway, but I finished and it's all good.  Signed up for the Salt Lake marathon last night :)  I've wanted to do this one for awhile, since the course runs on many of the same roads I train on.  Excited for another goal to accomplish :)

Ran 3 miles at a 6.0 on the treadmill this morning. Very easy. Guess I'll have to make up for it tomorrow :)

I'm going to start calling this my tempo workout day.  Did my laps on the treadmill like last week, with a few changes:

6.0 - 1/4 mile

6.5 - 3/4 mile

7.0 - 1 mile

7.5 - 1/2 mile - just couldn't face doing an entire mile at this pace this morning, like last week.  I know, I wimped out.  Gladly dropped down for a rest after half a mile.

6.0 - 1/4 mile

7.5 - 1/2 mile - thought after the rest I'd be better, but still kind of dragging.  You know it's a bad sign if you are already feeling nauseous at a 7.5 (I could feel all of that Halloween candy coming back to haunt me. . .)

6.0 - 1/4 mile

6.5 - 1/4 mile - picked up the pace here.  6.0 was just too slow at this point, which was actually a good thing :)

9.0 - 1/4 mile  - my playlist finished right before this lap, so I ran it sans music.  Just me, the treadmill, and 1.40 trying to tell my body not to hurl.  Almost made it, too, but those last 10-15 seconds kill me every time.  I did finish, I didn't puke, but the "almost" was definitely there again today.  

So, three weeks of this and still haven't overcome the puking sensation.  I know what I need to do next time, though.  NO MORE CANDY!!!!!  Seriously.  Halloween is killing me!!

Ran 4 miles at a 7.0 (8:34 min/mile) this morning.  It helped that I let myself sleep in this morning to the "late" hour of 7:30, and then ran after I took the kids to school.  Sometimes 6:15 a.m. and trying to run fast just don't mix :), especially by Thursday.  So, did my 4 miles and felt pretty good.  Tomorrow is my day off (hope I don't need those endorphins!), then my long run on Saturday.  

Ran  my  10 miles with the hubs this morning.  Which meant, we went at his pace, which was fine.  He's still sporting those few aches and pains.  He likes to stop and walk every couple of miles for a minute.  Nothing wrong with that, I just like to keep going ;) Glad that this was the last morning of running in the pitch black for awhile.  Daylight savings tomorrow, glad to have the sun up for my runs for a bit now :)

Did sprint workout on the treadmill this morning.  Felt easier to get out of bed at 5:45 because of daylight savings, even though I went to bed at the usual time.  I know, makes no sense.  But, if it helps, I'll take it :)

Did 3 miles on the treadmill this morning at a 6.0.  Kinda dragging today.  I think the cold and snow is making me want to hibernate - lol :) 

Did my tempo workout today.  

6.0 - 1/4 mile

6.5 - 3/4 mile

7.0 - 1 mile

7.5 - 1 mile

6.0 - 1/4 mile

8.0 - 1/4 mile

6.0 - 1/4 mile

9.0 - 1/4 mile

Wasn't sure how that 9.0 was going to be today, as I was feeling a little nauseous at 7.0.  Halloween candy is evil!  However, I triumphed today!  No puking/gagging/etc. after the 9.0!!  Now, can I do that 2 weeks in a row?  The 8.0 didn't kill me, either.  It's amazing that it's only a slightly slower lap than the 9.0, yet it feels so much more comfortable!!  

Great workout today! 

4 miles at 7.0 this morning.  Today was supposed to be my "sleep in" morning, but I was wide awake by 6:15.  Add that to the fact that I heard the pitter patter of little feet upstairs and I knew at least one kid was up.  Darn daylight savings!  So, I decided I might as well get the workout over with this morning.  Great attitude, huh?  At least I was wide awake, so I didn't have to fight the tiredness on the treadmill.  The 4 miles felt pretty good, too.  Got a lot on my mind, so it feels good to run it all out :)  Tomorrow is my off day, then my long run on Saturday.  Probably only 10 again, because of so much to do on Saturday.  Until then. . .

Did my 10 in 1:27 today.  Went by myself, hubby took the day off.  Felt good to push it a little faster this morning.  

Sprint workout this morning.  Decided to sleep in this morning and run after I took the kids to school.  Now I can't decide what's worse - running tired, or running hungry (since I still hadn't had breakfast).  I ran out of energy fast.  Maybe running tired is better :)

3 miles at a 6.0 this morning.  I have got to start going to bed earlier and eating less junk!!  I am dragging!!  

4 miles of my tempo workout.  Did the same workout as last week.  Wasn't sure if I was gonna make it at the end, I was dragging!  I was having one of those arguments with myself about slacking off a bit for the day or pushing forward.  Obviously, the slacker side lost :)  I've got to figure out why I'm dragging so much lately.  Hope I'm not over doing it.  I'm such a stickler with my exercise routines and don't give myself much of a break.  However, the holidays are coming up, and I need the workouts ;)  Maybe after the first of the year. . . lol.

3 miles on the treadmill at a 7.0 speed.  I've decided that there is the "lazy me" on one shoulder, and "Jillian Michaels" on the other.  Yes, Jillian :)  Gotta say, I would LOVE to have her work me out sometime, even for just an hour.  I know, glutton for punishment ;)  Anyway, slept in again, so I did this after I took the kids to school.  Started out fine, after 1.25 miles, my phone rang and I answered.  Normally, I wouldn't do this, but, as I was expecting a call and a visitor, I did today.  Anyway, after the call, I started up again and had lost some momentum, of course.  And then, I started to feel hungry.  Hadn't had breakfast yet, as usual.  Which isn't a problem at 6:15 a.m., but by 8:45, it starts to be.  So, I carried on with "lazy me" and "Jillian" arguing with each other.  They argued about slowing down, not going as far as I originally planned (4 miles) or just toughing it out.   Normally, "Jillian" wins.  Not today.  I decided falling off the treadmill didn't sound like too much fun this morning.  Could I have made it?  Maybe.  But, I didn't want to chance it this morning.   Sorry, Jillian ;) 

The south wind doth blow!!  I was SO not looking forward to this run this morning.  The wind has been whipping here for the last 2 days (major storm coming in later today) and I'm feeling a little burnout.  I told my husband and of course, he said not to go - ha ha!  Easy for him to say who can eat all the junk he wants and still stay skinny!  Besides that, I needed to go because I don't know what next week will be like.  Today was probably one of the last warmer runs of the year.  It was 50 degrees this morning, but next week the high's will be in the 20's and 30's - so I might as well enjoy the warm while I can!  

So, yes, I went this morning, and the wind was a whipping!  It was coming from the south, and, since my first 5 miles are going south, I really felt it!  It was one of those that you have to turn your ipod volume up just so you can hear the music over the wind, and you hope that your hat doesn't fly off!  Needless to say, the first 5 miles were a little on the slow side, mostly because of the wind, partly because I was feeling sluggish.  They were all about 9:15's.  After I turned around at 5 miles, though, things improved a lot.  Mile 6 is usually a faster one, mostly because it is a gradual downhill till the end where there is a bit of an uphill.  As I came back around the corner just starting on mile 6, I noticed a bunch of people running on the other side of the road.  Looked like a running group.  I kept up my pace and eventually passed a whole bunch of them between mile 6 and 7.  Felt pretty good ;)  After mile 7, the wind started whipping again.  At least it wasn't blowing at me, but sideways is still a distraction.  Had the wind with me the rest of the way home.  Glad it's over, let the snow fly now! :) 

Sprints on the treadmill this a.m.  So glad it's over :)

Looking forward to this week - only 2 school days and then family time!  And, I'm taking an extra day off of running - wahoo!! :) 

Ran 3 miles on the treadmill at a 6.0 pace this morning.  Very boring :)  

3.5 on the treadmill this morning.

Vacation's over, time to get back to real life.  I only ran/exercised 3 days last week.  I knew Thursday wasn't going to happen, as it was Thanksgiving and we were in Idaho in the below 0 temps.   Not even going to attempt running in that.  We came home from Idaho on Friday night and I was just not in the mood to go Saturday morning.  Just the thought of getting up early in the morning and bundling up in the freezing cold. . .nah, I extended my vacation one more day :)  This was very unusual for me, though, as I have not skipped a long Saturday run in over a year and a half.  Even if I've been out of town.  Crazy, I know.  

So, this morning it was back on the treadmill for my sprint workout.  Wasn't sure how the body was going to react after 4 days of laziness and plenty of yummy food.  It was fine, though.  Although I was tired (it happens when you stay up too late ;) ), my legs didn't feel as fatigued as they have for the last few weeks.  So, I guess the break was a good one.    

Did my 3 miles at a 6.0 today.  Feel a cold coming on. . . :(

Yeah, so I'm battling a cold now.  I wasn't even sure I should get on the treadmill this morning, but thought maybe I could help sweat these germs out!  Needless to say, it wasn't very fun this morning.  Thinking of maybe skipping the run tomorrow and saving up for Saturday.  Listen to me, I'm really getting lazy these days!  But, if it helps the sickies, so be it.

10 miles in the cold, inversion, and running with a head cold.  May not have been the smartest thing I've ever done. . .

I've been battling this stupid cold all week.  Instead of getting better, it seems to be getting worse.  And, I NEVER get sick!!  What's up?  So, I took an extra day off this week and vowed to complete my 10 miles on Saturday.  Friday night we heard about the lovely inversion over the valley.  I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  In the morning, I walked out the door and saw patches of blue sky.  Did I get lucky and the semi-rain storm clear up the nasty air?  By the time I was halfway finished, I realized it was just wishful thinking.  So, I got to breathe all that crap in and let it join the rest of the gunk already in my head.  (I felt better seeing I wasn't the only crazy/stupid one running in it, though ;))  Needless to say, it was not a great run.  I averaged 9:30 min/miles, so it was quite slow.  There were a few icy patches I had to be careful about, too, but for the most part, the roads were okay.   Hope this cold clears up so I can get back to my normal routine.  

Did 30 minutes on the treadmill at 6.5 today.  I haven't run since Saturday and I'm still battling this cold, but it feels like it's on the downside of it now.  So, thought I'd try running again today.  It felt good to exercise again.  This cold has really gotten to me and I decided it wasn't worth it to push it while I was sick.  Hoping to run the next two days, too, and that this sickness will finally GO AWAY!! :)

Did 3.25 on the treadmill today at a 6.5 speed again.  Had to take a break after 2 miles to get some kiddos I was babysitting today, but it's all good.  Still hoping to get out tomorrow morning for a long run.

Did 6 miles outside with the hubby this morning.  This was his first time running in over a month as he's been trying to heal up some injuries.  The verdict?  He's still hurting.  I told him it's probably his shoes, so we'll have to see if a different pair helps.  This run was good for me mentally, too, as we had some good running talk as we ran.  I've been pushing myself so much lately that I've felt burned out (that is, up until this sickness got ahold of me and then I took several days off :) ), but we decided that it's okay if I back off just a bit and then hit it hard after the first of the year.  That will still give me about 16 weeks before the marathon.  So, as I type this, I'm telling myself that I can not push myself so hard on the treadmill this week (when I go to workout, it may be a different story - lol).  But, I'm thinking just some easier runs in the next few weeks before I start up the intensity again.  We'll see :)

3.25 on the treadmill at a 6.5 at 6:00 this morning.  It would help immensely if I would go to bed before 11 at night. . . but that's beside the point.  So, going off what I said on Saturday, I toned it down today.  After I did my strength training, too, I'm going to keep that up, but will have to add to it after the first of the year, too.  I still have a sore muscle in my leg - not the hamstring, but back of the thigh that goes behind the knee??  It's been really tight the last several weeks and no amount of days off has seemed to cure it.  Not sure what to do other than try and keep it stretched good.  Hope it doesn't become a problem in the future.  

Ran 3 miles at a 6.0 on the treadmill this morning.  Yeah, I'm slacking today.  Didn't sleep well last night since hubby is out of town, woke up before the alarm, then fell back to sleep after it.  Seriously.  Then, had to jump out of bed to hurry and get the exercise over for the day before taking the kids to school.  Plus, I was listening to my book instead of music this morning, so it made for a slower run ;)

Still dealing with this stupid sickness.  Just when I think it's almost gone, my 4 year old wakes up with the croup this morning.  Uugh!  Hope it doesn't go around again.   

Did 3.25 on the treadmill at a 6.5 this morning.  Probably shouldn't have.  Felt kind of achy afterwards, so I didn't do the rest of my strength training.  My youngest is still battling a high fever and I'm hoping it doesn't spread to anyone else, but tis the season I suppose.  Was hoping that I wasn't experiencing the beginnings of the sickness when I started feeling achy, but I feel okay now.  Knock on wood. . . :)